I use 100% AVG and that is usually a thicker juice. So, recently I have been adding 2% water to my mixes. It does not appear to affect the taste, just the viscosity of the mix. An additional benefit seems to be: The coil(s) does not gunk up as badly or as quickly. This observation was made with DDAs as the test bed. The logical conclusion is the same thing would be happening in all other devices. I rebuild all of my coil and wick assemblies, so I'll be able to track this postulate.

It all depends. It would help if we knew what brand of stinkies you use to smoke. If they were full flavored you probably got a lot of throat hit.That's burning in the throat when you inhale. If you smoked lights your throat hit is somewhat less. This throat hit we control by the amount of PG we put in the mix. Start out by making 3ml of your favorite juice flavor with 70% PG and 30% VG. Be sure you use a calculator like the eJuice Me UP calculator you can download from Breakthru (it is without a doubt the best one out there). It takes into account ALL the PG in the recipe. Let the juice steep at least 72 hours and then try it. If you like the throat hit - - that's your numbers. If you would like more of a throat hit - make a batch using 80% PG and 20% VG. Try it again (after it steeps 3 days. If it has to much of a hit - mix a batch at 50%/50% PG/VG. There is a P calculator in the BT download, but we won't go there just yet. This is the most fun associated with this experience. So, have fun and keep us informed.

It all depends. It would help if we knew what brand of stinkies you use to smoke. If they were full flavored you probably got a lot of throat hit.That's burning in the throat when you inhale. If you smoked lights your throat hit is somewhat less. This throat hit we control by the amount of PG we put in the mix. Start out by making 3ml of your favorite juice flavor with 70% PG and 30% VG. Be sure you use a calculator like the eJuice Me UP calculator you can download from Breakthru (it is without a doubt the best one out there). It takes into account ALL the PG in the recipe. Let the juice steep at least 72 hours and then try it. If you like the throat hit - - that's your numbers. If you would like more of a throat hit - make a batch using 80% PG and 20% VG. Try it again (after it steeps 3 days. If it has to much of a hit - mix a batch at 50%/50% PG/VG. There is a P calculator in the BT download, but we won't go there just yet. This is the most fun associated with this experience. So, have fun and keep us informed.

Erck for the info. I'll check it out. I do use the eJuice Me Up calc and find it the best that I have tried

Quite frankly - - - I do not know. PG yes. PGA, I can't imagine. Simply because the alcohol is what you are getting rid of when you steep your juice. That is in addition , of course, to letting the different components blend chemically. You will have to get a chemist to explain that to you. I hated chemistry from high school chemistry to blood chemistry. I think it may have something to do with possibility that we have a suspension and we're trying to get everything into solution. Let me do a little research and see if I can come up with an answer for you.

Stay tuned friends and neighbors we'll be right back after a word from our sponsors, Friendly Vapers.

It depends on how much you want to thin your juice. I use a 60% PG, 40% VG mix and I use 6% PGA with respect to the overall mix. It's 16% with respect to the VG itself. You could use less or more depending on how much VG you're using and how much you want to thin your juice. It depends on the atomizer. For a dripper, you don't need to thin the juice at all. In a genny, it works better if the juice is not too thick.

I've never actually steeped my juice. I won't use a flavor that has to be "steeped" to be any good. If it's not good right out of the bottle, forget it. I do heat my mixes in the microwave to around 160F so they mix well when I shake up the bottle. I suppose that would be like speed steeping, people actually call it that. Though, don't do that in a glass bottle with the cap tight, it can explode. That actually happened to someone and it sprayed glass like a bomb.

I think I have a sensitivity (rash) to PG and would like to try and replace it with PGA. However, I am not sure how to do it. The nicotine I have is a 75 PG / 25 VG blend. I tried changing the nic blend around because I can buy a different blend to make it work if needed but still would not work just adding 10% PG because all the blends are the least a 50/50 blend with nic. Someone said use 10% PG and the rest VG and PGA and that just does not work out with the calculator. How about if I just replace the PG with PGA. Use the calculations from the calculator as I normally would but just replace PG with PGA, would that work?Any suggestions are appreciated.

Pure grain alcohol is highly flammable. You can't vape PGA that high, the stuff will catch on fire. Probably 10% is the highest you could go. PGA kills vapor production if it gets too high so even 10% probably wouldn't vape very good.

I think I have a sensitivity (rash) to PG and would like to try and replace it with PGA. However, I am not sure how to do it. The nicotine I have is a 75 PG / 25 VG blend. I tried changing the nic blend around because I can buy a different blend to make it work if needed but still would not work just adding 10% PG because all the blends are the least a 50/50 blend with nic. Someone said use 10% PG and the rest VG and PGA and that just does not work out with the calculator. How about if I just replace the PG with PGA. Use the calculations from the calculator as I normally would but just replace PG with PGA, would that work?Any suggestions are appreciated.

Your unflavored nic already has 75% PG. So my suggestion is to buy 100% VG Nic. Shop around for flavoring with no PG. Use PGA to thin and use in a low percentage. Adding a low PG % should not hurt.

Thank you for the suggestion. I am planning to purchase for me the nic with 100% VG so how much would you say to add to a 15 ml bottle with 20 percent flavor and 18 mg nic. Are we talking drops just enough to thin a bit?

Thank you for the suggestion. I am planning to purchase for me the nic with 100% VG so how much would you say to add to a 15 ml bottle with 20 percent flavor and 18 mg nic. Are we talking drops just enough to thin a bit?

That would be something you will have to determine.Start your recipe with a small batch first. Maybe 4ml or less so not to waste much.Try 5% PGA and work up accordingly until you find a pleasing blend.

Hi, First off many thanks for a great piece of software. It's my first attempt at DIY and the calculator and advice on this forum made it so much easier for me.

Okay I have made 10ml batches of the following ejuice and the only thing I am unsure of is the recommended steep time for each one.. I made them 4 days ago and I can't wait to try them. Would you recommend I leave them a week or are some good to go as soon as they are mixed?

Made with a base 20mg 50/50 mix, so after adding flavours it ends up around 60/40 at 16mg.All flavours used are F'art except Peaches and Cream and Cinnamon Danish Swirl which are Capella.

Hi, First off many thanks for a great piece of software. It's my first attempt at DIY and the calculator and advice on this forum made it so much easier for me.

Okay I have made 10ml batches of the following ejuice and the only thing I am unsure of is the recommended steep time for each one.. I made them 4 days ago and I can't wait to try them. Would you recommend I leave them a week or are some good to go as soon as they are mixed?

Made with a base 20mg 50/50 mix, so after adding flavours it ends up around 60/40 at 16mg.All flavours used are F'art except Peaches and Cream and Cinnamon Danish Swirl which are Capella.

Hi, First off many thanks for a great piece of software. It's my first attempt at DIY and the calculator and advice on this forum made it so much easier for me.

Okay I have made 10ml batches of the following ejuice and the only thing I am unsure of is the recommended steep time for each one.. I made them 4 days ago and I can't wait to try them. Would you recommend I leave them a week or are some good to go as soon as they are mixed?

Made with a base 20mg 50/50 mix, so after adding flavours it ends up around 60/40 at 16mg.All flavours used are F'art except Peaches and Cream and Cinnamon Danish Swirl which are Capella.

Welcome Geek! As time goes on, you will find this is a fine group of people, who will help you as much as they can. I have addressed this subject so many times I think I will find one of the tomes and copy it into the tutorials. This is a pleasure today. Most of the time I am doing this at 12 or 1 o'clock in the morning. Starting while I feel fresh is wonderful

Let me start by pointing out, no one forces you to steep. That is your choice. However, if you want the true flavor of your mix, most of the time you MUST steep. That said, this is chemistry! Pure and simple, add a little solvent, mix in some acid, and marry it to a plant extract and you get an elixir that smells and taste like strawberries or some other human delight. Leave that same juice to steep and meld and you have a strawberry jam like grandma use to make. Why, because, this is chemistry, not rocket science. Rocket science, you work your ass off to get everything mixed in just right, ten you stick a match to its tail and you instantly have the final results of your endeavors. We on the other hand, introduce strangers from the far corners of who knows where and as them to play a symphony they have never heard before. (Damn, I love these metafores. I'm going to do his in the morning from now on.) It s not going to be as wonderful the first day as it will after they have had time to practice.

That said, let me throw a monkeywrench in to confuse things a bit. There are certain flavors that, when mixed as singles, require NO steeping.Let me reword that, Most flavors, when mixed along require LITTLE or NO steeping. It is easier to tell you the worst of the lot, thaa to identify all the ones that do well without steeping when mixed as a single. I think the worst is peach. Peach can take from 3 to 6 weeks (Yes, Ethel, he said weeks) to attain that wonderful, sweet smell and taste. I think that this paragraph BASICALLY explains why we need to steep when mixing two or more concentrates into a vaping delight. Now the process.

Hold your ears. I'm going to yell. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT STEEP INTHE MICROWAVE!!! Regardless of what the guy who has been mixing and vaping since 1795 tells you, don't do it. Remember, I said these concentrates we use are made from chemicals? Some of those chemicals have a very low flash point. For instance: The chemical that give you that nice Turkish Tobacco taste, has a flash point of 212 degrees F. Now that is at full strength, but strange thing happen when you play with the chemistry set. Throw in this and that and you may have supplied a catalyst that makes the chemical more volital . If you will please notice, PG, VG, nic, and some of the concentrates are quite thick. Unless you put some water or alcohol in, these thick fluids are not going to jump into each others laps. The are going to layer. OH Yea, the guy in the back hollers out. I shake the hell out of my mixes. Try this. In a graduated cylinder, 10ml, if you have it, put the following:

When you have these in the cylinder. Put your thumb over the top and shake it. After shaking, notice the red stuff is still isolated in the middle.Now you have seen, with your own eyes, why we need to steep. Now, put your mix into a bottle and cap it. This is where the micro comes into play. Boil about a cup or a cup and a half of water. When it boils, remove it from the micro and put the closed bottle of mix into the boiling water. About every 5 minutes, take the bottle out and shake it. Let the juice stay in the water until it has cooled to the tepid stage. Notice, all the contents have mixed. You just, at the very least, started the steeping process. You can vape it now and get a better idea of how it is going to finish. The longer it sits the better it should get. Also, the richer you mix, the more important steeping become.

Without getting all PHD here, I think you should have a better understanding why steeping is necessary. Remember, this dissertation primarily addressed the process from a mechanical point of view. However, chemically, the same principals are at play. I hope his has been of help and has not been b o r i n g . Also, enjoy the juice you made, it is really good. Even for those who don't like tobacco flavors to much.

GREAT post erck. Really breaks it down. I always use the hot water method. It kicks it in faster. I will agree juice gets better with age like wine. I have made some that taste great right away then after a week I'll switch back to it and it has a whole different flavor.

Thanks METHOS. I did post it in the General Discussion sectiion for new members. I don't know if that is the right place. I hope the Admin gurus will move it where it should be and if we don't have a tutorial section, they will start one. The folks on this forum can, AND WILL, help anone who needs it and if we had a Tutorial section identified in the index, people would post all kinds of help. Including video tutorials.

I don't steep my mixes, but I pop them in the microwave for about 10 seconds to heat them up before shaking the bottle to mix the ingredients. Seems to help a lot. If you do that, but sure to leave the cap loose to allow for expansion. PG and VG expand a lot when heated up.

I made some juice one time by brewing tobacco leaves in PG. I put it away and forgot about it for about a year. It wasn't very good when I first made it, but it was really good a year later. The down side is it's a real atty clogger. You're just really limited in what you can vape because of that.

I don't steep my mixes, but I pop them in the microwave for about 10 seconds to heat them up before shaking the bottle to mix the ingredients. Seems to help a lot. If you do that, but sure to leave the cap loose to allow for expansion. PG and VG expand a lot when heated up.

I made some juice one time by brewing tobacco leaves in PG. I put it away and forgot about it for about a year. It wasn't very good when I first made it, but it was really good a year later. The down side is it's a real atty clogger. You're just really limited in what you can vape because of that.

freaked_out:Amazing you should bring this up today. It was just last night I was reading about making your own organic concentrates. I wasn't looking to make any, but found the article interesting. We have a customer that wants a premix that smells and taste like marijuana. Well I'm an old guy and don't know what it smells like enough to duplicate it and have no idea what the taste is like. So, I was researching the subject when I found a whole dissertation on making your own flavorings. I must say, I still don't know about the MJ. I have MJ concentrte, but have been told it ain't even close Jose. Neat

Just wanted to report back on my first DIY attempt. Tested the flavours in the following order and I used a clean iClear16 each time. All mixes made up as 60/40 @ 16mg and left to steep for 7 days.

Peach TobaccoLove this one. Could vape this all day.

Bahama MamaTasted very sour and I was not keen on it. Had a very strong taste that made me screw my face up like I was sucking a lemon.

Beetle JuiceTasted very sour and I was not keen on it. Had a very strong taste that made me screw my face up like I was sucking a lemon.

DreamsicleVery nice

FlamingoAwesome another one I could vape all day.

Fuzzy NavelAwesome another one I could vape all day.

GremlinReally liked this one.

HurricaneTasted very sour and I was not keen on it. Had a very strong taste that made me screw my face up like I was sucking a lemon.

Lemon ZestReally liked this one.

NemoReally liked this one.

Sex On The BeachTasted very sour and I was not keen on it. Had a very strong taste that made me screw my face up like I was sucking a lemon.

Cinnamon Apple Danish SwirlAwesome.

So out of my first batch there were 4 that tasted really sour and not pleasant . Was not sure if that was how they were supposed to be or if something was not right. It then clicked that all of the ones that tasted funny all had Pineapple in. Its a F'art Pineapple and having a smell of the concentrate it smells nothing like Pineapple and has a very sharp smell. I made up a 3 ml test of Pineapple only and it very sour. Not sure if that is right or if I got a bad batch. Have ordered a Pineapple from TPA to see if that is better.

Just wanted to report back on my first DIY attempt. Tested the flavours in the following order and I used a clean iClear16 each time. All mixes made up as 60/40 @ 16mg and left to steep for 7 days.

Peach TobaccoLove this one. Could vape this all day.

Bahama MamaTasted very sour and I was not keen on it. Had a very strong taste that made me screw my face up like I was sucking a lemon.

Beetle JuiceTasted very sour and I was not keen on it. Had a very strong taste that made me screw my face up like I was sucking a lemon.

DreamsicleVery nice

FlamingoAwesome another one I could vape all day.

Fuzzy NavelAwesome another one I could vape all day.

GremlinReally liked this one.

HurricaneTasted very sour and I was not keen on it. Had a very strong taste that made me screw my face up like I was sucking a lemon.

Lemon ZestReally liked this one.

NemoReally liked this one.

Sex On The BeachTasted very sour and I was not keen on it. Had a very strong taste that made me screw my face up like I was sucking a lemon.

Cinnamon Apple Danish SwirlAwesome.

So out of my first batch there were 4 that tasted really sour and not pleasant . Was not sure if that was how they were supposed to be or if something was not right. It then clicked that all of the ones that tasted funny all had Pineapple in. Its a F'art Pineapple and having a smell of the concentrate it smells nothing like Pineapple and has a very sharp smell. I made up a 3 ml test of Pineapple only and it very sour. Not sure if that is right or if I got a bad batch. Have ordered a Pineapple from TPA to see if that is better.

Geek, CONGRATS on the maiden mix!!!! Unfortunately, you got a bad bottle of pineapple. The Italians still use diecyl...... (what the name of the stuff that destroys your lungs. It's morning. What can I tell you. I'll look it up and get back to you.), so I don't trust their juices.

Ok, Breakthru. At one time Ihad figured out how to insert the calculator recipe, but have forgotten. I remember if you select the first entry you get the recipe without the bells and whistles and selecting the second choice gets you the whole card image. Please enlighten or redirect me. Eric :})>

Geek, CONGRATS on the maiden mix!!!! Unfortunately, you got a bad bottle of pineapple. The Italians still use diecyl...... (what the name of the stuff that destroys your lungs. It's morning. What can I tell you. I'll look it up and get back to you.), so I don't trust their juices.

Flavourart statement. Reduces but not eliminates from what I gathered in their statement:We realize that for E smokers, our food flavors are used in a different way as they are not ingested but inhaled, and the presence of diacetyl can be a cause of concern.

For this reason we have carried out massive removal of diacetyl from our flavor collection since November 2010 and product still containing it are clearly identified.

Update: Just found this about Flavorart Vape Heaven flavors..Clearstreamin light of calculated concentrations that a vaper might be exposed to from heavily flavored e-liquids, we have reformulated, at considerable expense, all of our Vape Heaven flavors to be completely free of any added diacetyl and/or related diketons. The general application flavors that cannot be created without them, but are perfectly safe for food, such as Butter, yogurt, etc are being clearly marked as “Unsuitable for Vaping”. These should not be used in flavoring e-liquid, nor applied as a “top note” in blending more complex vapable flavors. We feel that this should be a matter of informed choice.

Ok, Breakthru. At one time Ihad figured out how to insert the calculator recipe, but have forgotten. I remember if you select the first entry you get the recipe without the bells and whistles and selecting the second choice gets you the whole card image. Please enlighten or redirect me. Eric :})>

I gather that you would like to take a screenshot of just the form to post?

Personally I use a neat little program called "Snagit". There are several screen capture softwares but you can use your "PrtScn" button on your keyboard, open up a paint program that you already have and paste the image. Then, crop the form and save.

Flavourart statement. Reduces but not eliminates from what I gathered in their statement:We realize that for E smokers, our food flavors are used in a different way as they are not ingested but inhaled, and the presence of diacetyl can be a cause of concern.

For this reason we have carried out massive removal of diacetyl from our flavor collection since November 2010 and product still containing it are clearly identified.

Update: Just found this about Flavorart Vape Heaven flavors..Clearstreamin light of calculated concentrations that a vaper might be exposed to from heavily flavored e-liquids, we have reformulated, at considerable expense, all of our Vape Heaven flavors to be completely free of any added diacetyl and/or related diketons. The general application flavors that cannot be created without them, but are perfectly safe for food, such as Butter, yogurt, etc are being clearly marked as “Unsuitable for Vaping”. These should not be used in flavoring e-liquid, nor applied as a “top note” in blending more complex vapable flavors. We feel that this should be a matter of informed choice.

Good job, but they are still using diacetyl and/or other diketrons. It's just now they are telling you they are using them. For them to say they can not make butter flavor without diketons, maybe we should send them to all the other concentrate makers that do. Thanks anyway Breaktru. You guys do an awesome job.

I gather that you would like to take a screenshot of just the form to post?

Personally I use a neat little program called "Snagit". There are several screen capture softwares but you can use your "PrtScn" button on your keyboard, open up a paint program that you already have and paste the image. Then, crop the form and save.

Got my TPA Pineapple in the post today and it smelt like Pineapple unlike the F'art Pineapple . I made another 10ml of Bahama Mama and had a quick vape and it tasted awesome. I guess I did get a bad Pineapple from F'art . It does not fill me with confidence if their quality control is that bad they can let something like that out the door. Will stick with TPA and Capella going forward.

Got my TPA Pineapple in the post today and it smelt like Pineapple unlike the F'art Pineapple . I made another 10ml of Bahama Mama and had a quick vape and it tasted awesome. I guess I did get a bad Pineapple from F'art . It does not fill me with confidence if their quality control is that bad they can let something like that out the door. Will stick with TPA and Capella going forward.

Off to remake Beetle Juice, Hurricane and Sex on the beach

Lately I've fallen out of favor with FlavourArt. Been using them over 3 yrs now. I originally started with a few Lorann and Capella flavors and didn't care for them, could have been the type of flavors I used. Don't remember exactly what I used.I recently ran out of FA peach and the vendor was out of stock so I bought some Lorann Peach. Man that was good. Smelled and tasted great.May have to switch brands when reordering flavors.The guys from the UK have been raving about CupCake World. Have you given it a go? I don't think a US vendor sells them.

Hi,Been on a bit of a mixing frenzy over the last few weeks to find out what I like to vape. After the issue with the bad pineapple from f'art and moving to PA pineapple everything with pineapple is now great

Not yet started to make my own concoctions and have been using the predefined recipes and I have got to say all the ones below are awesome. Was very surprised with Red Rum. That and peach tobacco are now my all day vapes. Smores tasted flat/dull (cardboardish) so added a bit of sweetener and EM and that made a world of difference. All the others were great for my tastes from the get go.

Once I get more familiar with how flavours work with each other and ratios I will have a go at making my own. Have a couple of ideas that I want to try and hopefully they will be good enough for me to post here lol

Once again many thanks for the great software and everyone's help in the forum. Off to vape some more Beetlejuice nom nom nom

One thing I have noticed is how different tanks taste. I had been using a mixture of Protank 2's, iClear 30s and iClear 16s to test and they taste the same to me no matter which one I put my mix in. But I bought a Kayfun lite last week and the flavours are much stronger and different. As an example Nemo in the iClears is great and the Lemon is very slight. But with Nemo in the Kayfun I can really taste the lemon over the other 2 flavours. It's still a great vape but just a different taste